Nothing Special
by Kaiser Greedy
Summary: A world in which nothing much has change really…just a few minor differences…such as an twenty-something old con-artist being in charge of an pre-teen girl who has the power to tear apart whole cities…Oh dear….
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: A Glass of Milk**

 **A.N: Well, here we are again, off to another bizarre adventure…**  
 **Please Enjoy.**

* * *

Some days it was easy, other days it wasn't. Sometimes it could be boring and sometimes it could be interesting, even a bit dangerous at times.

Unfortunately, today was neither of those things.

If he had to give it a name, he suppose this what many folks would consider, "an average hard day at work."

"Are you serious?"

"Serious about what, Mr. Ando?"

"About this." The plumped face man said, his lip already forming into an angry scowl. His little chubby finger was pointing on the bottom of the page, "An 99% reduction in spirit guaranteed?"

"Yes? Do you have a problem with that?"

"Do you take me for some kind of idiot? Who the hell in their right mind would believe this crap?"

"Good sir, you offend me!" The other, much younger man cried out, raising his hands up in a defensible manner, "Everything listed on that piece of paper-"

"- Is utter bullshit." Your telling me that only with 2000 yen, I can only get the 20% chance course of having the ghost completely removed? Yet to get the 99% guarantee, you expect me to pay over 12000 yen?!"

" _Hmmm, perhaps I should increase the percentage for Option A…_ Mr. Ando, if your unhappy with these prices, may I humbly suggest that you go for Option B; The Serious Course?

Oh yes, wasting 5000 yen in order to get a wonderful 50% guaranteed spiritual reduction, truly a ground-breaking deal!" The older man replied in a sarcastic voice while turning his angry glare towards the window, "I can't believe that I actually came this god-forsaken place."

" _He has been on the edge since he arrived here…I'm going need to trend lightly."_ Well, good sir, I can't say I blame you for having doubts about this place, we are recently a new business, so it hasn't been easy to-"

"Oh, your new huh? Well then let me give you some friendly advice, _boy_ " He raised his right hand's index finger, "First off, your prices suck, second-" The man raised his middle finger while also pointing at one of the nearly posters with his other hand, "Take down that disgusting picture on the wall-"

{ **The picture in question was simply Reigen striking a dramatic pose with the citation, "THE GREATEST psychic of the 21th Century"]**

"Honestly, what sort of freak would place their face all over their work space? And third-" He promptly stood up from his chair, while also raising another finger into the younger man's face, "Don't bring a second-rate cheap suit to a meeting with your customers, it makes you look like a god-damn idiot who doesn't have a clue what he's doing."

"I see, I see. _He sure does have a flare for being dramatic._ " Reigen muttered quietly, already placing these "valuable tips" into the back of his mind before offering the upset man a friendly smile, "You raise some very wonderful good points about my sorry state of affairs, but I'm afraid to say that I fail to see how any of your complaints affect my skills as a professional exorcist. After all, I doubt that my posters are responsible for those fiendish little creatures that keep popping up in your dreams. If it's prices that worries you, I sure we can reach an reasonable agreement, don't you think?"

The plumped face man only gave a blank stare towards the self-proclaim psychic as he went on speaking, "Of course, if you still have any doubts, I'm sure you can always turn to the Sun Psychic Union for help, although I'm pretty sure they going have to charge you extra, seeing how they **are** a professional business after all."

"…"

"Well then, with that being said, would you like to go forward with the exorcism, Mr. Ando?"

* * *

" _Well that went better than I expected._ " Reigen thought as he puffed out another cloud of smoke into the room, " _His wife did say over the phone that he did have a bit of a nasty temper…"_

He lazily stretch out his hand to remove the cigarette out of his mouth before throwing it into the nearby trash bin, " _Still though, only 5000 yen…"_ He made a quick peak at the small watch that hung around his hand-waist,

" _Jeez, it's almost six already and that guy was my only customer for today…"_

He gave off a small sigh before taking out another cigarette out of his pocket, " _At this rate I am going up burning myself out if I don't find something to attract more customers… perhaps I should try lowering the prices-"_

 ** _Knock, Knock, Knock_**

"Hmmm?" The man slowly got off his comfy chair, placing his cigarette into his pocket once more and begin calmly walking towards the door, stopping short at the entrance, "Yes?"

"H-hello."

If it hadn't been for the knocking, Reigen would have sworn that he had simply imagined the voice up, for they had spoken so softly that he doubted that even the speaker themselves could heard the sound of their own tiny voice.

"E-excuse me, but may I come in?"

This time, being much closer, Reigen was now able to distinguish a more feminine yet youthful tone from the soft-spoken speaker, " _Well, there's no point in guessing, might as well let them inside."_

He opened the door to face himself staring at… a small child, _"Oh, it's just a kid…"_

She was wearing a plain old looking short sleeve blue dress, (A style that almost reminded Reigen of the clothing that a cousin of his wore when they had been children themselves). The back of her hair was cut short, although her front bangs were extremely long to the point in which it was nearly covering her eyes from being seen by anyone. Besides that, the only thing that stood out about her in Reigen's eyes was the fact the girl was holding some sort of piece of paper tightly to her chest.

"Hello sir." The girl spoke up, this time her voice was a bit louder than before, although it still held that uncertain tone that he had heard from earlier,

"Hello, there is anything I can help you with, kid?"

"Ahhh…I'm sorry, but is there someone here waiting for me?"

"…Did someone sent you here to say that?" Reigen answered, one of his eyebrow raised slightly at this odd yet familiar question.

From time to time, some random kids would show up at his doorstep and claim that they have seen some supernatural phenomenon occurring within the hallway or that some sort of ghost had calling out to them…of course, the performance would only last for about two seconds before they start laughing their little heads off and run off, pleased that they managed to waste the con-artist time again.

"No, I-" The girl's eyes looked away from the older man's glare, her checks becoming slightly red as her small hands slowly hand out the white piece of paper she had been carrying, "I came because of this."

Reigen gently took the paper from her tumbling fingers and quickly read through its contents,

 ** _Hey Mob,_**

 ** _Why don't you come to the tall building with the silly sign on the street near the old park that everyone used to visit? I be waiting at the second floor, there's something I would like to tell you there in secret._**

 ** _Nobu._**

" _Ah,_ _so it's_ _classic elementary school drama huh? …God, never thought I would ever put out those pair of words together in a sentence…_ I take it that this "Nobu" fellow is someone you know? _"_

Once again, the girl's face turned into a bright shade of red, "Nobu is…a boy in my class."

"Ho-oh? Someone you like?"

"No."

"… _What do you mean, "no?" There be literally no point in coming here if you have no interest in the guy._ Ah, then I'm assuming he's a friend of yours?"

 _"_ No…" The girl hesitated, her eyes were now looking down at her feet, "I don't think we ever actually talked before…"

"…"

"…I thought it would be rude if I didn't come…"

"I see…say kid, does your parents know you're here?"

"No."

There was brief moment of silence before Reigen gave a small sigh before forming that winning smile he would always display towards his clients, "Well then, I suppose we should gave call them a call, huh?"

* * *

"Here you go." Reigen said cheerfully as he handed a cold glass of milk into the young girl's hands, "Sorry it took so long, ( _You wouldn't believe how bloody expensive it is to get one bag of milk…)_

"Thank you." The girl quietly mumbled as she raised the tip of glass to her lips. Within a few seconds, the context of the glass had completely disappeared, with only prove of its existence was a stain of milk remained on the edges of her mouth and the empty glass cup that remain still on the con-artist's desk.

" _Damn, aren't she a fast drinker…_ Say kid, you might want to clean up that little mess on your mouth."

"Oh." Without saying another word, she quickly wiped her mouth with her arm before resuming her empty stare at the large desk that stood between them.

"So, kid, were you able to contact your parents?"

"Hmmm." She gave off a small nod, "Ritsu said they should be here in half hour."

"Ritsu?"

"My brother."

"I see… _She doesn't talk much, huh?"_ For the past hour or so, the girl had remained silent, always allowing Reigen to start one-side conversations or make simple remarks about the weather, never once voicing her own opinion about anything.

"You know kid, if you're feeling uncomfortable being here, you can wait downstairs or I can always ask Mrs. Sato from next door if she could-"

"Oh, it's not that sir…it just-" Once again, the girl's pale face flushed as she gave her answer, "I'm sorry, …I don't know your name."

There was a brief moment of silence, before Reigen started laughing, much to the poor girl's confusion, "Ah jeez, how terrible rude of me, you been here for nearly an hour and I haven't even-ah whatever." He stretched out his large hand while continuing to maintain that friendly warm smile of his, "I'm Reigen Arataka, professional exorcist, nice to meet you."

"Oh…I'm Rika Kageyama, I'm in my fifth year in elementary school." They shook hands for an brief moment, " _She has an pretty weak grip, huh? Well, she still only a kid…"_

"Mister Arataka-"

"Oh, you can just call me Reigen, kid."

"Mister Reigen," The girl began again, this time, her large brown eyes (or at least what could be seen from her long bangs) held a strange fascination the moment that Reigen had mention his profession, "Are exorcist like espers?"

"Espers? Well... I suppose so, I mean both required a huge amount of psychic energy to do what they usually do, either to levitate object into the air or banish evil spirts, so I imagine that there wouldn't be much of a difference."

"Oh, I see…Mister Reigen, would you mind if I ask you one more question?"

"Go ahead."

"How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Deal with being treated…"

{" ** _Who said you could hang around here?"]_**

 ** _["Honestly, why don't you go and bend some spoons over there, huh?"]_**

[" ** _What a show off_**."]

{" ** _Why can't she get a clue?"]_**

"-special."

Reigen stared at her for bit. Beside her short height, there was nothing much that made the child stand out in any particular way. Her face was nothing special, no remarkable features that made it memorable. The way she acted and spoke hinted toward the behavior of someone who would easily faded into the background when confronted by large groups of people. " _I see, so that how it is…"_

"I don't."

"Huh?"

"The truth is, kid, no-one really is special." For a brief moment, Reigen felt the itching temptation to take out a cigarette to smoke, but remembering his present company, he instead went on tapping his foot as he went on talking, "It's simple really, no matter if you're an athlete, intellectual or a psychic, people are only going treat differently simply because they just want something from you. The moment that's over, you're back to being an average chum in the eyes of society. So in a sense, you never _were_ special in the first place."

"Besides, just having a special gift doesn't really change anything about you, does it? It's what you _do_ rather than what you _can_ do what counts in the end…Just be a good person, that all."

"Oh…" Rika couldn't help but stare in complete awe-stuck at the man sitting across her, as if he just revealed to her the answer to one of life's greatest mysteries,

"Mister Reigen, do you mind if I come back to talk to you again?"

Reigen couldn't help but give off a small nervous laugh at the young girl's innocent question, "Well, I don't know about that, I'm pretty busy guy, you know? ( _Besides, I'm pretty sure your parents wouldn't exactly be thrill at the news of their little girl wanting to make friends with a guy in his mid-twenties…)_ Anyways, perhaps we should give your parents another call and see if they-"

He wasn't sure what caused it, either his sudden movements or perhaps because it had been too close to the edge… regardless of the reason, the glass that he had given to Rika chose at that moment to fall off his desk and shattering all across the floor,

"Ah Crap! Kid, watch ou-"

…Or would have, if wasn't for the fact that glass had stopped in mid-air.

Reigen could only watch in utter disbelief as a bright blue aura effortless brought the glass cup back up into Rika's small hands. It also took him a moment to realize that the same aura was surrounding the figure of that small, unremarkable girl,

"…Hey kid…are you an esper?"

"Yes."

"Huh…say kid, you don't happen to see ghosts too?

* * *

 **And that is a wrap for now… quite a strange start, huh?**

 **For those wondering why I chose to name Fem Shigeo as Rika, it's primarily for three reasons; First, I personally see it as a sign of be lazy writing if I simply make the character's name sound more feminine rather than making the effort of giving her own identity. And second, I actually like this name for several reasons (I. Rika means simply "Strong", a fitting name considering some of the future plot-lines for this story… It's also the name of one of my favorite characters in the Higurashi series…). As for the last reason...Rika and Ritsu certainty has an nice ring to it, doesn't it?**  
 **Anyways, I'm curious about what you guys thought about this first chapter, I do hope you guys did find Rika to be believable version of an Fem Shigeo, if not just let me what I could try improving on and hopefully avoid having her from becoming a cliché Mary Sue archetype.**

 **Until next time, have a wonderful day.**

 **Small facts: $2000 yen= $23 Canadian dollars= $18 US Dollars**  
 **$5000 yen=$57 Canadian dollars=$46 US dollars**  
 **$12000 yen= $136 Canadian dollars=$109.5 US dollars**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Old Radio**

 **A.N: Well... I certainly kept all you waiting huh?**  
 **...Sorry for the long wait. A mixture of writers' block, trying different writing styles with various stories, life and a general struggle to determine the direction that I wanted to take this story all contribute to this sorry sate of affairs...**

 **But enough about that...**

 **Please Enjoy**

* * *

 **{~ "Good Afternoon, Spice City!" Welcome to White Mountain radio! This is your host, Akira Itou here to bring up you lovely folks up to speed to anything you've might have missed since last tuning in** ** _." ~}_**

"Hiro, brake."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it…" The man muttered as he placed his foot firmly upon the brake, causing the car to slow down before eventually stopping right before the red traffic light, "But seriously dear, I really think you should give this guy a shot, you know?"

"No."

"Oh, come on, just like that? at least-"

"I said no."

 ** _{~_** **As you know, our wonderful forecasters at the weather station has predicted a light shower to come over our beauty city this afternoon, so do make sure that you have an trusty umbrella at hand, otherwise you might find yourself feeling a "bit wet" when coming home, ahahhahahah** ** _! ~}_**

Sometimes, Rika couldn't help but wonder if there was something that she was not quite getting when it came to understanding how exactly adults were supposed to behave towards one another, especially when it came her own parents.

There were so many things that she couldn't wrap her mind around about them; from the way they were able to solve any sort of homework in mere minutes, her father's infinite patience of just watching a bunch of old boring black and white films on the television for one entire afternoon to her mother's uncanny ability to read her children's mind in an instant (not in the literal sense, mind you…)

{~ **Today, we would like a to wish a very happy birthday to a little miss Ayame, turning into the ripe old age of nine years old. We** _\- "~}_

However, if there was one thing that she could say with utmost confidence regarding her parents, it was that they were not the friendliest sort of folk when it came to trusting people.

…Or at least this was the case with her mother. Her father on the other hand…

"I'm being serious here, I really think it would do Rika some good if she were to spend some more time in a safe environment where she had the chance to interact with people on a daily basis and-"

"Do you realize that's exactly why our daughter go to school, right? To learn and meet other children her _age_?

"…well yes, but-" He paused for moment, his mind struggling to find the words that could somehow convince his wife of his newfound trust in a man they had barely meet an hour ago, "This will be something different, something that could help really her deal with her little… _habits."_

Rika couldn't see her mother's face (which wasn't all that surprising given the fact that she was sitting in the back seat), but it wasn't very hard for the young girl to imagine her mom rolling her eyes at her husband's silly suggestion,

"Oh, for Pete's sake, I still can't believe that you're seriously considering accepting that weirdo's offer. It's all a sham. That "proposal" is just a bunch of rubbish meant to hook us into that whatever scheme that man's hatching in that hungry little brain of his."

"Oh, don't say like that, Hana. You make it sound like if he was trying to get us into some awful shady deal. He seemed like pretty decent fellow."

"Of course, he'll be friendly, Hiro. that's what he wants you to think, I know how these con-artists' works. They're the sort of people that will offer you a little bit of flattery to make yourself feel good, offering you a nice smile to look at as they rob you out of everything."

"Dear- "

"Hiro, green light."

"My dear, don't you think you're being a bit too paranoid? The man was just trying to be friendly with us, like any other normal human being. I would hardly call that flattery."

"No? You're telling me that, " _Ah, you're an electrician, Mr. Kageyama? It's an honor to finally meet an honest hard-working man of the people",_ isn't flattery _,_ **dear**?

"Oh Hana, don't start talking like that again. You know you make me feel like an idiot every time you do it."

"Fine, fine. You're right, I'm sorry." Her mother said, although judging from the unapologetic tone of her voice, Rika doubted that she actually meant it, "But I still don't see why we should even consider that man's offer."

"Hana, listen-"

"If Rika start doing these odd jobs with this weirdo, then she'll barely going have enough time to do anything after school. You already know how hard it is for her to make friends."

" _Oh."_ Unconsciously, Rika's fingers began tapping nervously against the soft fabric of her seat, " _So that's what Mama is so worry about…"_

Even if it was just over the smallest meaningless things, she didn't like hearing her parent arguing, (especially if the topic in hand had anything to do with her), It always brought a rather uncomfortable yet familiar sensation to wash over her body….

So slowly, Rika's mind began zoning out of their conversation and-

 ** _[Hey…what's with that creepy stare?]_**

 ** _[Just ignore her, that's how she always looks.]_**

 ** _[Jeez, Kageyama, can't you crack a smile for once?]_**

 ** _[How on earth did Tsbubomi became friends with that freak?}_**

She shook her head in dismay, "… _We should be home soon…"_

She turned her head toward the window nearest to her to see if they were any closer to reaching to their home…but as it was late, all she could really see from her small view were the dim light of the nearby lampposts that hovered over the darken streets.

" _Oh…are we lost? Did Papa get lost again? Poor Ritsu…"_

With nothing else to do, Rika's thoughts instead try shifting towards the smoothing voice that was coming from the car's old radio,

 ** _{~_** **Ah yes! Before we sign off, as requested by our lucky winners from last night's contest, tonight we will be playing a funky little song called, *** ** _Blue Moons_** ***~** ** _}_**

{* ** _Blue Moon, you saw me standing alone, Without a dream in my heart, Without a love of my own*}_**

The song started out a bit slow, its' music sounding a bit off tune to the girl's ears (Not surprising given the radio's poor audio quality…). But as she continued to listen, she began appropriating the upbeat tone that song brought, she could feel a genuine sense of warmness coming out from each word that the man sang out with all his heart …

{* ** _Blue moon, now I'm no longer alone, Without a dream in my heart, Without a love of my own._** _*}_

It was a nice song **…** even if she had not a single clue on what exactly he was even saying.

(" _It would be nice if they didn't always have play them in English.")_

"Rika."

"Hmmm?"

Her mother shifted slightly from her seat, just enough for her steely brown eyes to properly see her own daughter's face,

"Rika… Be honest with us, would you really be happy working in a place like that?

"…"

For a brief moment, she almost didn't know how to response. Throughout the entire car ride since they left the city, her parents had been completely engaged with their own conversation, it almost felt like that they had forgotten that she was even there with them in the first place!

" _That does tend to happen a lot whatever Ritsu isn't with us…"_

The girl took a moment to gather her thoughts, a moment that almost felt like an eternity. Remembering everything that had transpired since that afternoon; her bitter disappointment upon realizing that she had been tricked once again by her classmates, the uncertainty that she felt when she had entered that office to the warm fuzzy feelings that still tugged at her heart whenever she recalled the man's kind's words,

 **[** ** _Just be a good person, that all."]_**

So, without any hints of hesitation within her voice, Rika gave her answer,

"Yes Mama."

" Ah …I see." Her mother voice's faltered, as if taken aback upon seeing the unusual determination that was clearly evident on her daughter's face. Soon, a small yet uneasy smile formed upon the edges of her mouth as her sharp eyes quickly shift towards her husband (who was barely containing in his own laugher), "I suppose we're going have to give Mr. Arataka an phone call after all…isn't that wonderful dear?"

"Ihihihi…I suppose it is… you know, I think that this-"

"Hiro, please shut up and drive."

* * *

 **A.N: And that is a wrap for now... I apologized for the rather short length , hopefully as I gain more confident with this fic, I'll be able to move things at much better pace in the near future.**  
 **Thank you for all your patience and I truly do hope that you all enjoyed this chapter.**  
 **Please do not feel hesitant to offer your thoughts or any criticism you feel need to express on any part of the story, I always eager to hear where I need to improve on within my writing (:**  
 **Until next time, have a wonderful day.**

 **PS: Oh yes! For those wondering, the song being played within the radio is "Blue Moon" by Frank Sinatra. It shouldn't be too hard to found if you're ever interested in listening to this wonderful old music (:**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:A Dead Man's Proposal**

* * *

 _"This is boring"_

That was an obvious fact from the get-go, so obvious that that he couldn't help but feel surprise that he hadn't realized it sooner…

 _"Dear god, I need to get up."_

Reigen stood up from his chair, his legs feeling light weighted as if burdened by the very act of standing (" _Ah, jeez, how long have I been sitting there?")_. Shaking off this uncomfortable sensation, he made his way towards the back end of the room, or more specially, towards its' window. With some effort, his hands lifted up the old glass window wide open, allowing for the outside air to seep in and freshen the office's damp temperature.

" _… nice, almost forget what fresh air taste like…"_

The con-artist gave off a small sigh as his eyes wandered towards the outside view, catching a clear glimpse of the orange shaded sky that hung over the city.

He watched as the sun slowly disappeared underneath the city's thin horizon, taking away the last remaining shred of warmness as the smooth silk clouds begin fade and-

"… _wait a minute… why on earth am I describing a sunset?"_ He shook his head in dismay, a feeling of unease soon washed over him, " _Yep, definitely getting bored here…_

Then again, it was hard after all, to avoid the ever-looming state of boredom when there was practically nothing to do.

For the past four hours, he had waited quite patiently for any client to show up. He had paced back and forward from his desk, filed in some late tax forms, clean up some of the direst corners of his small office and hell, he even messaged his **own** mother in a fruitless struggle to kill some time…

And yet for the past six hours since he opened up the agency that morning, not a single living soul bothered walking through that door.

" _Ah, the perks of freelancing."_ The man muttered softly to himself, _"Where the only one you get to blame for your failures is yourself…"_

Truth to be told, he wasn't that upset by the lack of customers, it was nice once in a while to have a day off where he could simply kick back and relax. Plus, considering his strange line of work, he had gotten used to those lonely days which it was just him staring upwards the ceiling …

 _"Hey, lets' not start self-moping now, shall we?" There's no point in wasting time like that… besides, I still got another two hours before I can officially call it for a night."_

Still…it wasn't like him to get so 'irritated'. This wasn't like this was the first time he had to experience having a lackluster day with no work… no, the difference now was that he had a partner depending on him to find them some work…

" _Now aren't this a sorry sight? A grown ass man stressing over the fact that he can't find anything worthwhile for a little girl to sink her teeth into… Jeez, mother always did told me that I would be the type to consistently fuss over my kids…"_

It was funny really, he had been so excited to take that strange little girl under his wing, almost out of a native hope that their meeting(and his miraculous success at convincing the girl's cynical mother) was a predestined sign by the heavens that his luck(and his businesses) was finally going to change for the better …

Of course, that feeling practically wore off quickly after two weeks of the same old boring routine with the same old dull cases. Nothing that could allow the kid to actually use her 'talents' within the field and-

 _"Whoa, easy there, old fellow. Watch that train of thought. Remember, we're not dealing with another your stupid ideas to get you famous. She's just a little kid."_

He gave off another sigh as he went back to his seat, his hands already reaching into his pockets for a familiar old friend that could help ease his nerves,

" _It'll be alright. I just need to look at this at a different angle. Probably think of something that I could actually teach her in the meantime that would useful for a 11-year-old to learn… maybe I can- "_

 _RING, RING, RING_

Almost immediately, Reigen snap out of his lingering thoughts upon hearing the loud ringing that vibrated across the entire room. Without any hesitation, he quickly leaned over and grabbed his cell-phone that laid on the edge of his wooden desk (and nearly knocking down all his case folders in the process) and answered the call,

"Hello, this is Reigen Arakara speaking, how may I help you?)

( _Okay, that too much of generic line to open with. That always turn off potential clients. I really going to need to think of something with a bit more style to say in the future.)_

 _"_ Eh…hello?" The sound of an old man's voice echoed out of the phone, "Is this the Talk about Spirit Agency _?_ The one that deals with haunting, yeah? _"_

"Why yes, sir that's us." Reigen couldn't help but grin widely, a feeling of raw excitement coursed through his blood at the thought at finally having a real case to crack after nearly two weeks of enduring of what could be considered to be thinly disguised massage seasons with his clients.

"Oh, thank god. Here I thought I just called the wrong number, hahhah." The man gave off a nervous (and slightly awkward) laugh,

"Sorry, I really didn't expect you to sound so… young. Usually you would expect someone of your age to be somewhere nice enjoying their youth, not working in a deadbeat job already…eh, no offence."

Reigen raised one of his eyebrows at the rude remark, but he quickly decided not to commented on it , "None taken."

"Right… ummm, not to sound rude or anything, but you're willing to take up this case and do it tonight, yeah? Of course, I wouldn't be able to join you but… I would really appreciate it if you could wrap this thing as quickly as possible."

"Of course, I just need to check up with my partner and we'll be there in a hurry. ( _Thank god that tonight a Friday.)"_

 _"_ Oh, that's a relive to hear."

"Now then, why don't we get down straight down to business? So, tell me, what's the nasty spirit lurking about in your life that needs to be taken care of?"

"Ah. That. Well, to make a long story short, I think there's a ghost living inside my toilet."

"…I'm sorry, what?"

* * *

{ ** _One and half hour later_** }

" _Well, here we are."_

After entering though the front doors and picking up the room's security key that laid waiting for him at the front desk, Reigen quickly made his way towards the fourteen floors of the apartment complex. After a bit of searching through the narrow hallways, he finally stopped in front of a door with the numbers that read in golden letters; **_665_** ,

" _Huh…aren't that disappointing? Add one more digit up and place it one floor below, it would've given this place a creepier (if clichéd) atmosphere to work with. Perfect for one of those slasher films that Dad used to love so much… Ah whatever. Beggars can't be choosers."_

 _"Now then, I suppose we might as well get started."_

Without any hesitation, he lifted his hand out of his pockets and processed to-

"It's a bit weak, don't you think?"

"What?" He paused, his hand remained frozen in place as it maintained a tight grip upon the round metal door knob before slightly turning his head over his shoulder to face the young girl that stood behind him, "I'm sorry, but what did you say, kid?"

"The spirit." Rika repeated in a soft voice as she lifted her head upwards, her wide brown eyes meeting his own with a curious intent, "It's not giving much of a powerful aura…don't you think so, Mr. Reigen?"

" _Ah. That._ Well yes, yes of course!" The con artist said, a small (if fake) smile quickly find itself forming upon his tired face, "You're absolutely right, in fact, it was the first thing that I notice when we arrived at this floor."

"Really?"

"Oh yes. Once you reach my level of progress in spiritual matters, it's practically impossible not to sense all type of spirits wandering around in the neighborhood. It's quite bothersome if you ask me."

It was a blunt lie of course, he couldn't even remember the last time that he actually spotted a real ghost before it managed spotted him first, but…

"Still, I must say, that was rather impressive of you, kid. I can't recall the last time I ever sense a spirit so quickly. Well done!"

"Oh." The girl's pale face flushed over the unexpected (but welcome) praise throw at her way, her eyes shifted downward towards the wooden floor as if to avoid further embarrassing herself in front of the older men, "Thank you."

"Right, now then-"

Again, he paused. That should've been the perfect cue for Reigen to open the door, head inside and face whatever foul monster lay waiting on the other side of the room with his little trainee in row.

However,

" _Well, there's no doubt about now is there? There really is an evil spirit lurking in here."_

Unconsciously, Reigen bite softy upon his lower lips, almost if his body reacting towards a familiar twitch that was beginning to creep upon him, one that always inconveniently tend to show up whenever his nerves began failing on him,

 _"Shit."_

It was a bit embarrassing for him to admit this to anyone, but despite running a self- declared business that specialize with dealing with the everyday supernatural occurrences; It didn't change the fact Reigen Aratra was still a complete and utter amateur in terms of successfully exorcising **actual** ghosts.

For the past nine months ( _Jeez, has it been half a year already?)_ since he had officially opened the agency, he could only recall thr- two _(There were only_ _ **two,**_ _number three does not count.)_ cases out of the hundreds that he had worked in which there had been an actual- honest to god- evil spirit haunting his clients…

Everything else had been a mixture of unending backpains, extreme cases of paranoid, nasty pranks gone wrong and a lot of improvising on his own part…

" _Speaking of improvising,_ So, we're dealing a _s_ pirit with a weak aura, huh? Hmmm…correct me if I'm wrong, it has been a long time, but those types won't really take much psychic energy to eliminate, would it?'

"No, not really."

 _"_ That's good to know…" Reigen nodded, _"Alright, alright, there's no need to panic over nothing, old friend. If the kid isn't scared, then there's nothing to be-"_

"Ahhh, just to be clear, kid, you haven't had much experience with dealing with ghosts yet, have you? Beside seeing them of course. _"_

The young girl blinked, surprised by the unexpected question, "Well… no, I guess not." She replied.

Her body slowly began swinging back and forward as she tried to think of an appropriate response to offer to her teacher, "Whenever I saw one, they never made much trouble. So, I just left them alone. It's only the bad ones that I ever get rid off."

"Ah, I see _…_ well no worries! That-that actually quite a grown-up attitude to have, kid. It's never a good idea to start a fight for no good reason. Only idiots bother with that type of crap."

"…"

"… _Okay. Maybe that was a too strong of a word to use here."_ Reigen thought, a sense of uneasiness washed over him as the girl went on to stare at him, a confused expression was written all over her face,

"But Mr. Reigen, do you really think we're going have to fight it? They always tend disappear whenever I got too close."

"… _Yeah, that would make sense. Of course, they would scramble at the first sight of danger…_. Well, if push come to shove, I suppose there's no other way around it, huh? We're just going have to do this the old fashion way _."_ He offered another smile to his companion before finally turning around and processed to-

"Ah, Mr. Reigen?"

"Yeah? Something the matter kid?"

"I'm sorry for not asking this sooner, but…Papa wanted to know that when we're done, would you need a ride back home?"

"…yes, that would be very kind of him."

* * *

 _"Dear god…it's so clean."_

That had been Reigen's first thought when he flicked on the lights. Everywhere he looked, from the sparking white ceramic tiles that he stood upon, the neatly folded towels that rested upon the sink to the very pleasant scent that grace his nose when he enter into room, it almost felt like he had walked into an highly respected hotel room instead an old apartment tiny washroom.

 _"Never would've take that guy to be a clean freak…. I can't even remember the last time since I kept my own apartment this clean."_

Besides its' rather impressive maintenance, it had all the basic components of an average modern-day washroom; a medium size sink to wash one's dirty hands, a shower with a glass frame to prevent the water from leaking out upon usage and… a toilet.

 _"Here we have our culprit for tonight…great."_

He stared at it for a while, his eyes desperately searched for any visible signs, the smallest hint that would scream out that paranormal activities were indeed occurring right here… but alas, he saw nothing…

 _"Can't tell if that's a good or bad sign…well, it could be worse_. _At least I'm actually doing something instead of spending another hour of my life staring at an empty celling…"_

"Mr. Reigen?" Immediately, Reigen snapped out of his thoughts, his mind shifting towards the voice that spoke from the other side of the washroom's door, "Did you find the evil spirit yet?"

"Ahh… not yet, kid. _(It has only been five minutes.)_ I can't seem to sense its' aura any longer and from what I can see, nothing strange has happen since I step inside. So, look like I going to have to do a bit more investigation of this room before we can safely begin forcing this thing to come out of its' hidey hole."

"Oh."

"Cheer up, kid. If I do this right, it shouldn't take us much long and-"

"Can't you just drag it out?"

"…huh?"

"If you're having problems trouble finding it, Mr. Reigen." The girl said, her soft voice carrying a pleasant dreamily like tone as she spoke, "Then just use your psychic powers to drag the spirit out. It's not that difficult, I think. It's what I always do whenever one's trying to scary Ritsu."

"I-" He paused, a nervous laugh escaped from his lips. "You're absolute right, kid. If I were to use an small faction of my powers, we could've finished this job before we even step foot enter the elevator."

"But…if I were to do that, then there wouldn't be much purpose in inviting you to help me out here tonight, would there?"

"…"

"Listen, I know it's a hassle, but I just going need you to trust me, alright?."

"Alright…But Mr. Reigen? Why can't I come inside and help you right now?"

"Well that-" Reigen hesitated. There was a perfectly good reason why he, a fully-grown adult, had asked a young little girl to wait outside while he investigated an male stranger's washroom…but that was an conversation best serve for another day…

So instead, he li- gave a reasonable excuse, "Backup. If anything goes wrong, I'm going to need you to hold the line and make sure that this spirit does not leave this room."

"Oh. Okay."

"So, until then, why don't head over to the kitchen and grab a snack? I'm sure that our client wouldn't mind."

"…"

He waited until he could no longer heard the girl's footsteps before giving a small sigh of relief.

" _Now then, back to business, what exactly did the old man say before he ended the call?_

[ ** _It's hard to explain it, but for the past few days, I can't help but this strange feeling that someone is watching me. It always happens whatever I'm taking a -]_**

 ** _"_** _Okay, no need to go into those particular details…_ _not much to work with, but I suppose I might as well take a seat and see what happens."_

So, without any further interpretations, he went on, took a seat (feeling slightly uncomfortable due to its' rather small size) and waited….and waited. And waited….

"…"

It was only after glancing down at his watch and seeing that ten whole minutes had passed that he came to the solid and logical conclusion that he was simply wasting valuable time at this point.

" _…Well this aren't wonderful?"_ The man thought bitterly to himself, giving off a rather dramatic sigh as he began standing up, " _At this rate, I might as well send the kid home and see if I can-"_

He blinked.

It was only then, at that very moment, that Reigen happened to realize that was a white ghoulish hand resting on his shoulder,

" _Eh?"_

" ** _WOULD YOU LIKE RED OR BLUE_** **?"**

And like an utter idiot, Reigen froze. Before he knew it, something cold was gripping him by the throat, compiling him to remain seated on the lid.

" ** _RED OR BLUE, RED OR BLUE, RED OR BLUE_** **…"**

It was chanting, its' hollow voice echoed all across the room. He could feel it was breathing heavily down his ear. The way it spoke was nearly unfathomable , it felt like as if he was trying make sense of a faint distant noise while a drill was digging deeper and deeper into his mind.

It was irritating, frightening and ghastly among many other things.

 **"** ** _SHOULD I GIVE YOU THE RED OR BLUE PAPER?"_**

"I, I-" There was a part of him wanted to scream, no scratch that, **every** ouch of his body wanted him to scream. For someone, anybody, to hear him his cries of help and save from him whatever was behind him. But he couldn't.

To do so would come at the cost of practically admitting to the evil spirit that held him hostage that he had already lost, that there was nothing he could do but simply become another victim in whatever sick mind game that this creature wanted him to play in.

Plus, he didn't want to frighten Rika.

" _Calm down, calm down, calm down. Everything's going to alright. Take it easy, I-I just need to focus and think. There got be a way out of this."_

" ** _IT'S NOT THAT HARD TO CHOOSE, IS IT? ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS TO PICK; DO YOU WANT RED?" OR BLUE_**?"

" _Red or blue, red or blue."_ Reigen muttered, he could already feel a pour of sweat dripping carelessly down the back of his neck, his legs were begging to shake. " _I know this story."_

The spirit spoke once more, already becoming mildly aggravated by the man's utter silence to its' question, _"_ _ **COME ON NOW**_ _,_ _ **DON'T KEEP ME WAITING. WILL BE IT RED OR BLUE? RED OR BLUE?"**_

 _"I remember reading something like this online_ … _Ah crap, how it did go again? The ghost, the ghost ask me make a choice, there's no backing out for the door is shut tight. If I pick the wrong color, then it's basically game over. If I pick the right one then-"_

" _Then-"_

Then, he knew.

"Hahahaha…"

" **HO-OH**?"

"Hahahhahahahahahahhahahahahahahhahahahahahahhahahahahahahhahahahaha!"

He was laughing, laughing so hard that he was absolutely certain that every living soul from that apartment floor could hear his infuriating silly laugher.

" _To think that I was actually losing my cool there for a second."_

 **"** ** _WHY, WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?! DON'T TELL ME, HAVE YOU GONE MAD FROM THE STRESS?"_**

"What? Oh please, give me a _break_. _"_ Reigen replied , his voice now beaming with a familiar sense of confidence, "Why the hell would I lose my mind over something as ridiculous as this?"

 _"…_ _ **?"**_

"Come on now, don't tell me you actually thought you had me in a corner, did you? Everyone knows your 'spooky' legend. If I chose red, you rip out my guts. Blue? You choke the life out me. Simple as that. Either way, you win."

"…"

"No, no, _no_. The win to your crappy game? The real right answer-" In an instant, Reigen lifted his right arm in a dramatic fashion, his finger pointing towards the only roll of white toilet paper that hung careless against the wall, "-is lean over and wipe my own god-damn ass."

"…"

"I'll admit that you certainly give a near heart attack you first pop up but come on now. Toilet paper? Really?"

"…"

"Well seeing as I've made my point, I'm afraid I must- _Ouch!_ "

Before he could even finish his sentence, the spirit's hand twisted his head sideway, forcing him to finally have a proper view of the creature that held him captive.

" _Oh. Oh god."_

 _"_ _ **HOW DISAPPOINTING… YOU JUST HAD TO BE A PARTY POOPER, DIDN'T YOU? RUINING ALL THE FUN THAT WE COULD HAVE."**_

It took all of Reigen's sheer will power not vomit at the mere sight of it.

There was barely any visible skin that covered its' terribly thin body, only half of it was exposed as the rest remain hidden within the wall that stood behind them. Its' face was humanoid, but it was obvious to anyone who looked at it that it lacked any traces of a normal human face would have. It stared at him with two empty hollow eye sockets, causing all sort of nasty shivers down his skin.

But perhaps frighten the poor con-artist the most was its' mouth, for the mouth was permanently fixed in an unending repulsion grin,

 _"_ _ **GOD, WHAT A MESS THIS HAS BEEN. FIRST, NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES I MADE MYSELF KNOWN, THAT OLD BASTARD NEVER ONCE BOTHER ACKNOWLEGEING ME, NOT EVEN A PROPER HELLO… AND NOW THIS."**_

 **"STILL…"** As if defining the very fabric of logic itself, that hideous smile widened.

 ** _"YOU'RE QUITE A CLEAR FELLOW, AREN'T YOU? SO, WHY DON'T WE MAKE A DEAL_** **?"**

 **"** A-a deal?"

 **"** ** _IT'S QUITE SIMPLE, REALLY. IF YOU HELP ME OUT HERE, I'LL LET YOU GO. HELL, I EVEN LEAVE THIS TIRESOME ROOM, THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT, ISN'T IT_** **?"**

"Haha…well aren't you being generous? So, what's-"

 **"** ** _CALL THE GIRL."_**

There was brief moment of silence, one that almost felt like an eternity before Reigen finally answered **"** …What on earth are you tal- ughhh!"

 **"** ** _I ALWAYS TEND TO FIND CHILDERN SO FASCINATING TO WATCH_** **."** The spirit mumbled to itself, nearly ignoring the small fact that it was basically chocking the life of its' former target,

" ** _THEY EITHER PANIC AND MAKE A CHOICE RIGHT AWAY OR THEY SPEND AN ETERNITY OVERTHINKING THE WHOLE THING, TREATING IT AS IF IT WAS A MURRDER MYSTERY THEY'VE TO SOLVE."_**

 _"_ _ **SO, COME NOW**_ _,_ _ **IT'S REALLY NOT THAT BAD DEAL OF A DEAL ONCE YOU THINK ABOUT." YOU GET TO LIVE, GET YOUR REWARD OF 'CRUSHING' THE BIG BAD SPIRIT AND WHO KNOWS? MADYE THAT LITTLE BRAT OF YOURS WILL FIGURE OUT THE RIGHT ANSWER AND GO HOME IN ONE PIECE."**_

 ** _"…"_**

 ** _"SO, WHAT DO YOU SAY?"_**

"…W-would you really do it?" Reigen could barely whispered the words out of his dry mouth, "I-if I were to call her in here and let you have your fun … Y-you would really fulfill your end of the deal? You'll let me go and disappear?"

 ** _"YEAH."_** At once, the spirit loosened its' tight iron grip upon the man's neck, allowing him to breathe properly once more, " ** _A_** _ **BARGAIN IS BARGAIN**_ _."_

 _"_ _ **NOW THEN, HURRY UP AND CALL THE GIRL**_ _."_

" **I refuse."**

" ** _HUH?!"_**

 _"_ Call me crazy." Reigen said casually as he abruptly stood up, taking full advantage of his opponent's bewilderment. His eyes grew as sharp as blades as he stared down the evil spirit "But I really can't help but want say no straight to that ugly face of yours for thinking that I would pull a stunt like that to my prized student ."

"… ** _Y-YOU, YOU ROTTEN SON OF A BI-"_**

 ** _"Banishing Salt Punch!"_**

 **[This is one of Reigen's special attacks; where he punches the enemy with his fist covered in table salt** ** _._** **]**

 **"…DID YOU SERIOUSLY TRY PUNCHING ME? THAT DIDN'T EVEN HUR-"**

 **"** ** _Banishing Ultra-Violet Salt Splash!"_**

 **[This is one of Reigen's special trump cards; upon the completion of a successful 'Banishing Salt Punch', he then unleashes a rare home-crafted explosive weapon** **that violently unleash waves of table salt…alongside with a series of more salt filled punches]**

 **"** ** _MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA MUDA!"_**

 **{…However, it proved to quite ineffective…}**

 ** _"…ARE YOU FINSIH NOW?"_** The spirit asked, clearly unamused by the man's 'antics', " ** _DO YOU REALIZE THAT UNLESS IT'S PURIFYING SALT, IT AREN'T GOING TO WORK."_**

 ** _"_** _Ah, shit… Here I thought that spirits were weak to any kind of salt."_ Reigen thought weakly, his legs shaking as he stepped backwards, desperately trying to reach for the door, " _I really screw up, huh?"_

" ** _YOU KNOW, YOU NEVER DID ANSWER ME_** _."_ Its' body began stretching, a bone-cracking noise could be heard as it drew closer and closer.

" ** _THAT'S FINE, IF YOU'RE NOT MAKE A CHOICE-"_** It smiled ONCE, revealing a gigantic set of teeth **,** ** _"THEN WHY DON'T I MAKE IT FOR YOU_** _?"_

" ** _SO, SHALL I PICK BLUE_** _?"_ In a mere instant, its' hand transformed into a mighty blade " ** _OR RED?"_**

The spirit lunched forwards, its' blade only inches away from cutting the con-artist's head off and,

and-

" ** _WHAT THE HELL?"_**

Reigen could watch in utter disbelief as the once menacing evil spirit remain frozen in mid-air, unable to move a single muscle as a familiar bright blue aura surround its' body.

"Oh. You finally find it."

It took Reigen a full second to realize that Rika was now standing next to him. Compared to his sweaty form, the girl looked completely unfazed and relaxed at the bizarre sight that stood before them, happily munching down a large chocolate chip cookie that she held firmly within her left hand,

"Ah, there you are kid. I nearly forget you were still waiting for me to finish up. _(Oh thank god you show up.)_

"Was it a hard fight?" The girl asked while tilting her head. failing to comprehend of what truly just transpired between her teacher and the evil spirit, "You look really tired."

"Wha- nah, not really." Reigen said, taking full advantage of the given situation to salvage his self-image, "The guy wasn't really tough per say, but I really have been in bad shape lately, so…"

 **"** ** _THAT A LOAD OF BULLSHI-"_**

"Still-" Gently, he patted Rika's head, causing the poor girl to blush from the unexpected warm gesture, "If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have be able to escape that little deathtrap, so thank you."

"Oh. Your welcome"

"…"

"Umm, Mr. Reigen? Would you like me to rid of the evil spirit now?"

"…Huh? Yeah, sure, go for it."

 ** _"G-GET RID OF ME…. GET RID OF ME?!_** At once, the evil spirit's expression changed into one of pure raw rage, **"YOU** ** _THINK A MERE WENCH LIKE YOU CAN EVER DREAM OF HARMING ME, THE GREAT DEMON FROM BELOW?!"_**

Rika took a step closer to where the spirit remained frozen while taking another bite off her cookie. Lifting up her right arm, her fingers now mimicked a hand gun as her blue aura quickly gather around the very tip of her index finger,

 ** _"OH, YOU'RE INDEED A DISILLUSION BUNCH. BEWARE CHILD, FOR THE MOEMNT YOU DROP THIS BARRIER, I WILL-"_**

 _"_ Bang."

{ **Thus** **Sujin, the high-level evil spirit known as the "The Demon from Below" or more commonly 'The Toilet Paper Fiend', was no more."]**

"That…was rather quick."

"Hmmmm."

"…Well! With that said and done, shall we head off home?"

With nothing else to do, both Reigen and Rika turned and left the bathroom, leaving behind only a puny pile of dust of what was once considered one of Spice City's latest horror (and a lot of leftover salt).

* * *

 **AN: Thank you all for reading, I truly appreciated it as always (:**  
 **For those who are curious about it, Sujin was largely based off the Korean urban legend, "The Toilet Ghost" The differences lay that in the original story, it's only a creepy hand pop up and does the haunting and it usually occurs within squat toilets. Everything else was just based off my own creative liberties.**  
 **And of course, for those who are still wondering, that was indeed a Jojo reference...**

 **Until next time, have a wonderful day.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: A Quiet Evening**

 **A.N: Here we are again, another update.**  
 **Please Enjoy.**

* * *

"P-please don't be shy."

"…"

"I'm just going to take a step closer, alright?"

" ** _Hissssss_** _."_

The moment she took a step forward, she could already see that despite her slow movements, the cat hadn't relaxed a single muscle within its' entire body. Its' white fur stood straight up upon its' small back as its' sharp eyes viewed the young girl with a deep suspicious glare, waiting for her to make any sudden movement that could be interpreted as hostile.

"Oh…please don't be scared." She spoke more softly, placing both of her arms towards her back as she took another step closer, "It's me, Rika…"

" ** _Hisssssssss."_**

 **"** Don't you remember me?" She offered the cat a small yet sweet smile as she finally stood right in front of it, "I know it's been awhile, but-"

 ** _"Hissssssssssss."_**

 **"** I'm your friend, remember?"

 **"** ** _Hissssss_** _."_

"Don't worry, don't worry." Slowly, her hands carefully reach out to pick up the frighten animal back into her arms, rubbing gently against its' stiff back,

" ** _Purrrrrrr_** _r."_

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you."

" ** _Meow_** _."_

"Feeling better?" Again, she offered the cat another warm smile, relived that she was finally able to regain its' trust, "To think that you would come all the way out here…Come on, let's take you back home."

Of course, she wasn't referring to her own house, (heaven forbid). No matter how much begging or tears she could mutter up, she knew that her parents would never agree to the idea of a stray animal roaming freely within their house… Plus, Ritsu didn't even like cats that much.

 ** _Ring! Ring! Ring!_**

She froze as an uncomfortable tinging sensation vibrated against her leg. Holding the white cat firmly within one of her arms, Rika reached inside her pockets to take out her tiny cellphone, gaining a quick glimpse the message that had been sent,

[ ** _"_** **Heyyyyyy, Mob, have you decided yet? Today's the last day before Mom buys the tickets and she wants to how people are coming to the concert."]**

 **[ it tomorrow?]**

 **[Of course, dummy. Don't tell me you forgot?]**

 **{No, I didn't forget it. I don't think I can make it.]**

 **[Why?]**

 **[I have to help a friend out tomorrow. Sorry.]**

 **[Lier. Are you still mad over what happen last time?]**

For a few minutes, she simply stared at the bright line of texts, her mind utterly blank. It wasn't until she felt the cat began struggling to free itself from her tight grip that she was able to quickly come back her senses,

"A-ah, sorry."

" _Meow."_

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to hurt you…"

Again, she smiled at the impatient creature, as if to reassure it (and herself) that was everything was alright. This time however, it wasn't very hard to tell that this one lacked any of the gentle warmness that her previous smiles had displayed.

"Let's take you back home now, alright?"

 _15%_

* * *

"Here we are."

 **"** ** _Meow_** _."_

If there were one thing that Rika Kageyama regretted ever since she found her small companion wandering aimless around her school, it was probably the fact that the best that she had done so far for the stray cat was providing it a make-shift home that happened to close to one of the city's largest lake.

" _Cats hate water."_

It wasn't necessity a bad spot as not many people chose to come here during the late evenings, making it a rather peaceful place for any person or animal to relax during the long sunny days. The old bridge that stood over it provided a nice cover of cool shade from the sun's brimming light during the hot afternoons.

Plus, it was only a short ten-minute walk from her school was, providing Rika with many opportunities to come and go as she please to check on her small "friend" well-being.

 _"It used to be easier when Tsubomi was with me."_

She gave off a small sigh as she drew nearer towards the spot where she had constructed what could be considered the kitten's temporarily home; a large paperboard box and some bowls that she brought from a nearby pet store. It wasn't the greatest of living conditions, but it was enough to keep her little friend happy.

Still…

"You really are getting tired of living here, aren't you?"

" _Meow."_

"I know, I did promise you that I would find you a new home soon, but…" She hesitated for a moment, biting softly upon her lower lip before continuing, "It's only going to take a little bit longer, okay?"

"…"

A wave of fresh guilt began knotting itself tightly within the girl's stomach as they drew ever closer to the spot. She hadn't been lying when she said this, it was a promise that she fully intended to keep within time, but…

 ** _{A cat? Are you sure it isn't one of your ghosts following you around?")_**

 _20%_

She paused as her eyes shifted their tired gaze towards the nearby river, catching a full glimpse of her own self reflection; an insignificant young girl clutching desperately onto a tiny cat for dear life.

" _Ah."_

It's hard convincing people to do something nice when nobody is even willing to listen you in the first place.

" _Maybe, maybe I can ask Mr. Reigen if he could- no, Mama and Papa said that I shouldn't him bother too much…but maybe if I-"_

Rika blinked. She stared at the scene that stood before her once more. It wasn't so evident upon first glance, but upon a closer look, the young girl quickly realise that was something missing from the cat's home…

"Oh no…" She said softly, her fingers softly stoking the animal's smooth fur, "No wonder why you were so upset earlier. Someone stole one your bowls, didn't they?"

As if pleased with the girl's self-realization of its' dire situation, the cat let out an affective purr.

Gently, she placed the tiny animal back within the large box, watching as it paced around the piles of blankets before finally setting in,

"That's alright. We'll just need to get you a new one, huh?"

" ** _Meowwww_** _."_

* * *

" _Oh, good._ **Huff-Huff** _, I made it_."

Thankfully, when she had finally arrived (nearly out of breath due her short-lived sprint from the old bridge, the store was still open for business.

{ ** _Welcome to E's Pet Shop! Where the prices are so low, it should be considered illegal to sell it!)_**

 _"It doesn't look like much has change since I came here…"_ The girl thought as she went through the front door of the shop,

Besides several aisles that proudly displayed its' unique pet products and diets, there wasn't really much there that helped capture any potential customers' interest the moment they entered through its' front door.

It was a rather painfully plain looking shop, both on the inside and outside.

It was obvious that its' owners were forced to make do with what tiny resources they had available to promote their small business, leaving little room to work on the finer details of the cramp space they struck with. Its' horrid looking walls were in a desperate need of a fresh repainting and there was always this foul odour that seemly was always present no matter how many times the poor employees painstakingly took their own valuable time to clean the entire space again and again….

Still, given the fact that it was located between two of district's most popular family restatements and a much bigger(if more expensive) pet store right across the street, it was nothing short of a miracle that they were still up and running to this day…

Of course, none of that mattered to the young girl. She had come for one particular purpose, and that was to find a brand-new bowl for her furry friend to enjoy its meals in peace.

" _I'll need to hurry."_ Rika thought to herself, " _Otherwise he is going to get upset if I don't come back soon. Now where do they-"_

"Welcome."

Instantly, Rika paused where she stood before slowly turning to face the tall man who sat behind the shop's front desk. He was a rather young fellow, most likely someone entering their collage years. But beside this and his bright red hair, he didn't look much different compared to any of the other employees that Rika had seen in her previous visits to the shop.

He was reading a book with a bright red cover that showed several people working with what appeared to be a rather strange machine. It must be quite an enjoyable read as the man refused to take his eyes off the pages as he went on speaking,

"Welcome to Emil's Pet Shop, where the prices are so _low_ , it should be considered illegal to sell it." He said, echoing the shop's fame motto in a bland and boorish tone, a clear sign of a disgruntled employee who had grown quite sick of repeating that tiredness sentence.

However, for better or for worse, Rika failed to pick up that not so subtle hint that the employee was emulating …

"Oh. Hello." The girl said in a polite tone. She almost turned to leave to begin her search, but she hesitated.

" _I really can't afford wasting any time here. Maybe I should ask him for help?_

Eventually, after gaining enough courage, she finally asked her question "Ummm, sorry for asking, but-"

"Speak up louder kid." Th man intreuppted, "You're standing right in front of me and even I can barely hear your goddamn voice."

Rika winced, "Sorry, I-ummm, I just wanted know, where do you keep the bowls for cats?"

"…"

"…"

"…sir?"

"Hmmm? Oh. bowls, right." The man muttered as he flipped to the next page of his book, "Just go to the back end of the store and there should be something you might like."

"Oh. Okay." Rika nodded her head before offering him a short bow, "Thank you Mr…"

"…"

However, this time, the man didn't even bother offering a proper response, leaving the poor girl in a rather awkward position as she waited for him to give her his name…

Eventually, with a slight blush on her face, Rika excused herself and left to seek what she had originally came here to find.

* * *

It took her a short while to found one, but after carefully examining several bowls that hung high upon the wooden shelve, she finally chose a large purple bowl that was decorated with small pretty hearts,

" _It's not exactly the same as the one that Tsubomi got him."_ The girl mused to herself as a bright blue aura gently brought the bowl down into her hands, " _But-"_

She smiled, _"I think he'll like it."_

 _10%_

Feeling quite confident with her choice, Rika hastily made her way back to the store's counter to pay for the item. However, when she arrived, the red-haired clerk was no where to be seen. The only piece of evidence that indicted that he hadn't gotten up and gone home was his book that remained wide open near the cash register.

" _Oh"._ Her eyes franticly searched from left to right to see if she could spot the man lurking anywhere within the small store _._ But alas, there was no trace of him…

" _Where did he go?"_

With nothing else to do, the girl simply waited for the men to return. However, as the passing seconds begin transforming into minutes, her patience was beginning to crumble,

 _"It's already getting dark…"_

So, in attempt to calm down her growing anxiety about her furry friend, Rika's mind swiftly turned towards the pleasant music playing out of the store's speakers,

 **{*** ** _Heartache number one was when you left me*}_**

 ** _{*I never knew that I could hurt this way_** *]

" _Oh, oh! I know this song, they're playing one of Mr. Itou's favorite songs!"_ Rika thought excitably as she quickly recognized the strange yet familiar English lyrics that were being sing (not that she knew what they were actually saying...but that was beside the point.)

She felt quite at ease as she continued listening to the singer's smooth voice, a small smile slowly graced her pale face. It was always a pleasant experience whenever the odd opportunity arose for her to catch a small snippet of the radio's wonderful if odd music,

 ** _{*And heartache number two was when you came back again*}_** **_{*You came back and never meant to stay*}_**

"Ugh. how tacky can you get?"

" _Eh?"_ Surprised by the unexpected voice, the girl turned her head slightly over her shoulder to find that were two adults standing right behind her, both impatiently waiting for the store's cashier to show up.

"Do they have to keep playing the same song over and over again?" The spiky haired man remarked, a wide smile was pasted all over his face as he placed both of his hands at the back of his head, "I swear, if I have to listen to this crap again the next time I come here, I'm going to vomit. It's so god-damn annoying, you know?"

He snorted, "Honestly, what sort of idiot would enjoy listening to this type of garbage?' **"**

 _25%_

 _"Oh."_ Rika's fingers began tapping nervously against the smooth surface of the bowl that she held firmly against her chest, as if reacting to the man's harsh words. Of course, she knew that he wasn't even speaking to her, plus judging from his sarcastic tone, she doubted that he was being that serious with his criticism…

But still, Rika couldn't help but feel a sense of shame upon hearing the man's blunt dislike of something that she had come to genuinely appreciate since that fateful meeting with the self-proclaim greatest psychic of the 21th century…

 _"I guess not everyone like Mr. Itou's_ _music…"_

"If you ask me, I-"

"Well, I suppose the idiot would have to be you, wouldn't it?"

"…huh?" At once, the man turned around to face the person who had spoken, a young pretty lady with pale blonde hair who held a large bag of dog food with both of her arms, "I'm sorry, what did you sa-"

"I said, the idiot would have to be you." The women repeated, "After all, you're the only here complaining about how irritating the music is in the first place. Everyone else has kept their mouth shut until you started complaining. So, by that logic, the idiot can only be you, don't you think?"

"…"

He stared at her for a while…although that wouldn't be entirely accurate. From what Rika could see (without making it too obvious that she had staring), the man's eyes were tightly closed shut, never once opening while he talked ( _"Is there something wrong with them?")._

"Hey, hey, hey. No need to be so serious about it." The man said, gesturing his hands in a playful (if dismissive) manner, "Jeez, talk about not being able to read the mood, I was only having a bit of fun. You know?"

"…"

"Besides, even if _I_ was being serious, can't a hard-working man such as myself vent a little bit after a long day at work?"

"Oh. I see." The women 's lips curved into a faint smile, "Quite bold of you to assume that anyone here would give a shit about how you feel."

"…you little b-."

"I'm back."

At once, the girl's head snap forward to find the once missing cashier waiting idly behind the counter, watching the arguing duo with a rather bored expression written all over his freckled face,

" _Where was he?"_ The girl wondered, surprised that he had somehow made it back to his post without anyone noticing his return…

 ** _{*Yes, I've got heartaches by the number*}_** _{*_ _ **A love that I can't win*]**_

"Oh, look finally decided to show up." The man said in a somewhat exaggerated voice, all while maintaining that silly little smile seemly glued upon his face. Almost as if he had forgotten his short-lived argument with the blond hair women standing behind him, his frustration was now geared toward the returned cashier, "You certainly took your sweet time enjoying your little coffle break, eh?"

"…"

"What? Almost forget that you got a real life to get back to?"

"Sorry if I kept you waiting, _sir."_ The cashier said in a very unapologetic voice, causally shrugging his shoulders as he spoke, "But I needed to take care of some quick errands before my shift ended tonight. Otherwise my boss would be very, **very** unhappy the next time I see her."

Surprisingly, the man gave an understanding nod ** _, "_** Ah, so that's how it is, huh...well whatever. Just hurry up so I-we can go home already."

"Of course. So, that will be $1170.34 yen please."

It took Rika a short moment to realise that statement was directed toward her,

"¥ _1170.34_ _…."_

The disgruntled employee watched as the little girl reached into her pockets and pulled out a bunch of small rusty coins, dropping them lightly upon the counter that stood a little too high for her own liking,

"Here you go, mister." She said, a sense of confidence swelled over her, feeling quite proud that she could buy something so easily without having to ask her parents for permission. It was quite an odd if pleasant feeling.

Ever since she had began helping her mas-

 **[** ** _Oh, for love of god, kid. Please, please, please don't call me that_**. **]**

-teacher with whatever odd job he called her up for (It always had something to do with a bothersome evil spirit for strange reason…), her mother had deemed appropriate that it was time that she finally earn an allowance.

It wasn't a large amount, of course. Truth to be told, if she had waited another week or so, she might have able to gain a little more money to get something nicer for herself to enjoy…but she didn't want her cat to wait anymore longer then need be.

"Nope, sorry kid, but I can't accept this."

"Eh?"

The cashier sighed, "The bowl costs around ¥1170.34, right? From what I can see, you only have here ¥ **1003.15**."

"…Oh."

Unless you forget how to properly count, you're a little short on cash, don't you think so?"

Once again, her cheeks turn bright shade of red. Behind her, she could hear the man snickering,

 _30%_

"Unless you got anymore cash hiding in those pockets of yours, then I afraid that this- "He lazily lifted his right arm, his finger pointing towards the bowl that the young girl held tightly within her arms, "-Is going to have stay right here with me."

"…"

Rika bite her lower lip as she gave off a small nod. Her eyes were now staring downwards at her shoes, avoiding the harsh stare of the adult that loomed over her. There wasn't much she could do at this point, really. It was her own fault for not bothering to check if she had enough money to spend. She supposes she could always come back tomorrow if-

"H-hey!"

Without any warning, the women suddenly pushed the man aside, her black heels clicked on the floor as she walked towards the counter,

The cashier frowned at the women's impulsive actions, "Hey lady, I get you're in a hurry, but could you at least wait until-" His voice died out as the women placed three crumpled ¥ 1000 notes, "Eh…"

"There. That should cover the item's cost, shouldn't it?"

"Well… yeah, but don't you think that's this little much? I mean, you don't need to spend that much."

"That's fine." She replied, "Just give it to the kid or keep it to yourself if you want to be a greedy asshole, I don't really care." Her voice was soft, yet compared to the way that Rika spoke, it seemed like that every single word that came out of her lips came across if she had considered it a hundred times over. There was no mistaking the raw confidence that was oozing out of her.

A few seconds passed before the cashier gave off a small sigh and processed to check out the item,

"A-ah, thank you." The girl gave the women a short bow of appreciation, although she remained quite confused over the exact motive that laid behind the stranger's random act of kindness, "Thank you very much, miss."

"…my pleasure."

"Ummm, I promise that I will pay you back when I see you again."

"There's no need for that. You heard me, didn't you? The change is all yours."

"Oh. Okay."

With that said, without uttering another word, the women turn and quietly exited the store.

"…What a strange lady…"

"Oh, trust me." The cashier grunted as he handed both the bowl and extra cash back into the girl's hands, "That's nothing compared to the usual weirdos that come around here. Always gives me the shivers when those freaks show up with their creepy masks."

"…"

"Well with that out of the way, I suppose-"

 **[It was that moment that the cashier-]**

 **[Who shall be refer as one XXXXX XXXXXX from this day forward.]**

 **[-realise that that 'strange lady' had just walk carrying an entire bag of dog food worth over 8000 yen.** ]

[ **A bag she did not pay for.]**

 **"** Shit."

Cursing at himself, the cashier swiftly jumped over the counter (nearly causing the poor girl to drop her bowl in utter shock) and ran in at an utmost god-like speed in hopes of catching up and retrieving the 'stole' item.

[ **Spoilers: He didn't.]**

Rika slowly blinked, her mind fruitlessly attempted to piece together what exactly she has just witness, " _Oh… did he needed to go to the washroom that badly?_ "

Shuddering it off, with no reason to stick around, Rika quickly made her way the front door and exit out of the store.

….

"…ihehehehehe, oh, you've got to be kidding me." The man muttered as his hand pulled back his spiky black hair, "Just when I finally found what the boss's brat was looking for…"

"Everyone went up and forget about me."

 ** _{*_** ** _But the day that I stop counting*} {*That's the day my world will end_** ** _*}_**

Shmazaki sighed, "God, I don't get pay enough for this."

* * *

When Rika finally made her way back to the bridge, the little white cat was nowhere to be seen.

 _50%_

It wasn't until nearly two hours of searching every nearby neighbourhoods (and a worried phone call from her little brother) that the girl, with a broken heart, give up her search and went back home that quiet evening.

* * *

 **A.N: Well aren't that a gloomy way to end a chapter, eh?**

 **This was a quite a interesting chapter to write as when I originally comprise the first scene, I intended for it to go in completely different direction in terms of pacing, action and atmosphere that was a little more darker then usual. But in end, wouldn't you know it, we ended with this. Oh well (:**

 **Anyways, I do hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know what you liked or didn't like, I'm always up to hear constructive criticism.**  
 **Until next time, have a pleasant day.**

 **S** **mall facts: $1000 = $12**  
 **¥ 8000= $96.62**

 **The song played within the shop is called "Heartaches by the Numbers" by Harlan Howard**


End file.
